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WAR ACTIVITIES 



IN 




MINNEAPOLIS 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



BOARD OF EDUCATION . 

FEBRUARY, 1918 



Facts About Minneapolis 

Population 385,000 

Number of public high schools , 6 

Number of public elementary schools 76 

Enrolment in high schools 9,034 

Enrolment in elementary schools 46,097 

Total enrolment 55,131 

Number of teachers in high schools 382 
Number of teachers in elementary 

schools 1,255 

Number of principals and supervisors 89 

Total number in school force 1,727 



Minneapolis Public Schools and the 
War Since January 1, 1917 



Junior Red Cross Auxiliaries 

Red Cross Membership Drive 

Red Cross Salvage Campaign 

Direct Gifts to Soldiers, Sailors and Nurses 

Liberty Loans 

Thrift Stamps and War Savings Certificates 

Food Conservation 

Fuel Conservation 

War Gardens 

Farm Labor Enlistment 

Belgicin Relief 

Y. M. C. A. Campaign 

Courses for Draft Registrants 

Adoption of War Orphans 

Knitting Clubs 

Service Flags 

Contract Work of Girls' Vocational High School 

Teachers' Direct Contribution 

D. ot B. 

MAR 25 1918 



\ 



^^'f^S^unior Auxiliaries 

Minneapolis Chapter American Red Cross 



Pledge 
V- I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Re- 
y public for which it stands: One Nation, one Lan- 
\ guage, one Flag, with Liberty and Justice for all. 
I pledge all the service within my power to the 
School Auxiliary of the American Red Cross. 

Organization — $2 a room and service. 
Goal — 25 cents a pupil. 
Every pupil a member, January 7, 1918. 
Amount of money contributed to date toward 
membership dues — $5,025.16. 

Articles Finished to Date 



High 
Sflioois 

Abdominal Bands 
:\fghans (Blankets) 30 
vnti-vermin Suits 36 



Elemen- 
tary 

58 



iandages 


1391 


540 


Jath Robes 


125 


36 


'3ed Sheets 


216 


156 


|3ed Shirts 


665 


121 


' ied Socks 


451 


1225 


'Sonnets 


186 


16 


Books 


5 


9 


Booties 


9 


92 


Bottle Covers 




1310 


;aps (Child's) 


57 


12 


:;aps (Opt'g) 


241 


516 


laps, Trench 


15 


33 


Dominoes 


2 


1 


rraw Sheets 


12 


48 


Dresses (Children 


s) 69 


22 


Dusters 




464 


:5own, (Opt'g) 




25 


3un Wipes 




7772 


Handkerchiefs 


100 




Helmets 


36 


9 


Hospital Socks 


72 




Housewives 




947 


ce Bag Covers 




189 


Jackets 


35 


6 


Joke Cards 




20 


<it Bags 


3382 


1193 


Knitting Needles 




1022 





Uis:h 


ElnneH- 


Schools 


tary 


Layettes 


3 




Leggins 


60 


272 


Mitts (Child's) 


447 




iViitt (Lining) 


127 




Napkins 


24 


12 


Needle Books 




2500 


Night Slips 


58 




Operating Towels 


108 


81 


Operating Sheets 


72 


368 


Pajamas 


181 


338 


Paper Dolls 


28 


988 


Pillows 


37 


72 


Pillow Cases 




78 


Puzzle Pictures 


38 


131 


Scarfs 


24 


2 


Scrap Books 


4 


172 


Shoulder Wraps 


169 


287 


Shoulder Caps 


40 




Slings 


22 


450 


Socks 


46 


58 


Stretcher, Stocking 




38 


Sweaters (Child's) 


26 




Sweaters (Knit) 


269 


152 


Sweaters (Finish) 


800 




Towels 


77 


1595 


Underwear 


75 




Wash Cloths 


40 


55 


Wristers 


133 


51 



10,044 23,630 
Total 33,674 

Drawing, sewing, manual training and cooking 
classes are working on a variety of articles for a 
big sale in March. Proceeds will help to swell the 
Junior Red Cross membership fund. 



Red Cross Membership Drive 

The number of members among teachers and 
other employees is 1,900. The total amount raised 
was $2,218. 

Red Cross Salvage Campaign 

This campaign was encouraged as an after- 
school and Saturday occupation for the children. 
It has amounted to raising about $2,000 a month 
for the Red Cross. Boy Scouts have been partic- 
ularly active in this work. 

Direct Gifts to Soldiers, Sailors 

and Nurses 

Hundreds of knitted articles, candy boxes, food 
boxes and Christmas boxes; scrap books, porto- 
f olios, magazines and smileage books; rugs, foun- 
tain pens, field glasses, wrist watches and Victro- 
las; $830, and even a war ambulance, have been 
contributed by pupils and teachers, to be sent to 
persons in service known to donors. 

Liberty Loans 

In the first and second Liberty Loan cam- 
paigns, Minneapolis public schools were credited 
with a total of $743,000 in subscriptions. This to- 
tal represented offerings of pupils, teachers and 
other employees, and patrons who made their sub- 
scriptions through the schools. It is believed 
every child has an individual share in a Liberty 
bond. Seventy-eight schools have ownership in 
whole or part in one or more bonds each, held' 
by the Board of Education. Bonds to the amount 
of $1,500 were left as class memorials. 

Thrift Stamps and War Savings 

Certificates 

The average weekly investment in thrift and 
war savings stamps has been about $3,000. School 
savings of children have been invested for many \ 



years through a local savings bank. This bank 
has continued its clerical service to the schools in 
war stamp investments. 

Food Conservation 

Food pledge cards were distributed through 
the schools and signed pledges returned from 
more than 20,000 families. The schools are vir- 
tually the distributing force for the food admini- 
stration. Canning centers were opened in vari- 
ous schools last summer and lessons given to 
mothers in canning. These lessons have been 
continued through the 1917-18 school year. The 
regular course of study in cookery has been 
changed to conform with food administration reg- 
ulations. War breads and substitutes for meats, 
fats and sugar are special features. 

Fuel Conservation 

Boys and girls as government agents were 
active on "Tag the shovel" day. 

War Gardens 

Two thousand three hundred children of the 
4,000 enlisted in garden work last summer under 
school supervision had productive gardens. The 
estimated value of the products of their gardens 
was $49,262 Three public markets were opened 
for the sale of these products. Patriotic citizens 
gave more than $1,000 in prizes. In behalf of the 
schools, janitors cultivated vacant land in school 
and park property. They produced 1,300 bushels 
of potatoes, 582 bushels of squash and 99 of car- 
rots. This produce is being used in "penny lunch- 
es," lunches in fresh air rooms, and so on. 

Farm Labor Enlistments 

One hundred thirty-two boys in upper grades 
and high schools were excused from school work 
last spring to take places on farms in the state. 
Credit in school was given for such work. The 
plan, enlarged, will be observed this spring. 

Belgian Relief 

For relief of children in Belgium a fund of 
$4,030.94 was raised by a collection in the schools. 



Y. M. C. A. Campaign 

A fund of $12,350 was raised in the schools for 
the war work of the Y M. C. A. 

Courses for Draft Registrants 

Evening courses have been opened for in- 
struction of drafted men expecting soon to be 
inducted into the national army. Teacher vol- 
unteers assisted in a survey of the educational 
status and needs of Minneapolis registrants, using 
questionnaires filed with local draft boards. Many 
of these boards have used the schools for clerical 
offices and physical examination headquarters. 

Day and evening schools for Americanization 
work have been conducted for men and women. 

Adoption of War Orphans 

Thirty-five war orphans have been adopted by 
Minneapolis schools. 

Knitting Clubs 

School social groups have been turned into 
knitting clubs. While knitting, they sing patriotic 
songs and tell patriotic stories. 

Service Flags 

All the schools have service flags. Those of 
the high schools have 1,431 stars. 

Contract Work of Girls' Vocational 
High School 

The Girls' Vocational High School has a gov- 
ernment contract for making army shirts. It 
is doing hundreds of dollars' v/orth of work for 
the Red Cross in its cutting department. It is 
estimated that this cutting is saving the Red 
Cross $7,000 a month. 

Teachers' Direct Contribution 

Teachers give evenings and Saturdays to knit- 
ting and surgical dressing classes. Many have 
qualified as teachers in surgical dressing work. 



/ 



in the Schools 

/he Minneapolis Tribune) 



_,..^ ' have long- known that the way to 

v^t" untoward disposition is to ask him to do 

ij^vor. To that extent the humanizing power of 

_ i^e has been recognized as an ally in teaching. 

Today that principle, better understood, and expanded 

in application, is transforming the Minneapolis schools. 

Every parent with children in the schools senses that 

in the awakened spirit of those children. Patriotism 

has seized them. It possesses them. It colors their 

days, and doubtless their nights — for who will say they 

do not dream it? It finds expression in service. 

Minneapolis should realize that its 82 public schools 
with 55,000 children have become centers of "doing 
things" for others. Boys and girls knit, sew, cut, 
paste, draw% paint, whittle, as never before. They 
have a purpose. They do these things for the soldiers 
^.and sailors of their country, for the soldiers and sail- 
ors of their country's war associates. They do them 
for others. As they knit, they sing the songs that 
iTiake the pulses of Americans leap and their nerves 
thrill. 

The strain has all but gone from the schools. ■ 
Teacher's face is not inereiy placid; it is alight with 
purpose. Pupils' voices are lower, more even, while 
their eyes are eager. The war has done what school 
folk have racked their brains to know how to do. 
It has "motivated" school work. Junior Red Cross 
activities. Liberty Loans, food and fuel saving, have 
done it. 

Teachers report that regular school work has not 
suffered because of what the children are doing in 
America's fight — doing with cheer and self -forge tful- 
ness and determination. Arithmetic, language, geog- 
raphy—the whole gamut of subjects — are at least as 
well done as before, better done in most cases. Chil- 
dren have something to figure for, to tell about. Mid- 
year promotions last month were as general as in nor- 
mal times. 

Pupils are not the only ones affected by the new 
conditions. Teachers are learning how to teach as 
neither normal school nor experience has ever before 
been able to show them. 



Earning For the\^ 

By being ash man, snow ' ., 
ter and "chambermaid", Jack *^ 
years old, of the Clara Barton sciio--,-,, 
lis, earned $3.75 for the Red Cross, i 
books on himself and has it all itemized. 

He carried out ten baskets of ashes for 5 cents 
a basket. He shoveled walks at home and in his 
neighborhood, getting 50 cents each for the "big- 
gest" ones and 35 cents for just ordinary walks. 
He made $1.75 in that way. 

He had a shack which had to be torn down. 
His father gave him $1 for the wood zmd a quar- 
ter for splitting it. 

Jack worked in the house, too. "I cleaned the 
bathroom up and made the beds every morning 
for two weeks," he told at school. That netted 
25 cents. 



Banking With Uncle Sam 

Everett Allen of the Schiller school, Minnea- 
polis, who is 12 years old and has an eye for busi- 
ness, is earning money to invest in a war savings 
certificate. His father is a meat dealer. Everett 
is working for him — on commission. He has 
rounded up nine new customers, one a boarding 
house. This house runs its meat bill up to $40 
or $50 a month. Everett gets a 5 per cent com- 
mission. He earned $2.50 in the Christmas va- 
cation. He has a war savings certificate and is 
saving his earnings for stamps. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



020 914 391 4 



